Old Enemies
by MrsEm
Summary: This has been sat in my Doc Manager for a long time! Super short story about the passage of time, growing up and forgiveness.


"How long has it been?" Kirk asked incredulously, his hand running through his straw-coloured hair nervously.

"Eight years," Raihana answered with no hint of emotion, he was nervous she could tell but she wasn't about to make it any easier for him. She watched him watch her, his eyes skimming over her quickly.

"That long?" again, she watched him shake his head in astonishment, she didn't answer his question though, she was in no mood for small talk. Especially with him.

What did he want her to say?

_'Yes it's been that long Jim Kirk since you slept with me and never rang. Yes it's been that long Jim Kirk since you slept with me and never rang and then proceeded to avoid me like the coward that you are even though I never called you, hounded you, asked why, made your life hell?'_

_'Yes it's been that long Jim Kirk since you tried to make my life hell.'_

"So, how are you?" he was looking at her peculiarly and she was finding it highly unnerving. She grew aggravated, she hadn't been prepared to see him. Someone that had caused her so much displeasure in her otherwise ordinary life. The one time she'd broken her own rule and it had had to have been with Jim Kirk!

"I'm good, thank you." she answered quickly, him nodding along like a puppy as she spoke.

"Good… good," oh Christ now she felt sorry for him! How dare he make her feel sorry for him!

"And you? How are things?" damn it he's happy she asked, same old Jim freakin' Kirk!

"Good. Great!" Raihana watched him bounce on his heels, if he nodded his head any more than he was already she feared he'd get whiplash.

"Captain of the Enterprise, well you never were one for settling were you Jim?" Kirk's eyes narrowed at her words, he was trying to work out whether or not she was mocking him. Raihana had always known who Jim Kirk was but he had never got his head around who she was, that's why he'd slept with her, put her in his neat little box labelled '_Women I've Slept With_'. Otherwise, he would have had to put her somewhere else and that's where he would have come unstuck, because there were very few boxes in his world and only one labelled '_People I Trust_'. That box had perhaps one or two people in it and even they'd get thrown out from time to time.

He'd speak to her like he did the other Cadet's, with disdain or flirtatious lies.

"No, I guess not, but look at you! Captain of the Dreadnought no less." Raihana wondered what his true feelings were on the fact that she achieved her own Captaincy around the same time as him on her own merit and not because the acting Captain was injured. She'd heard the rumours, knew enough to know that the whole thing was a joke.

"Indeed," she found herself smiling tightly at him, but then her face straightened again and looking down her nose, she kept her brow unfurred, not giving him one hint of his effect upon her. She had nothing else to say to him, so said nothing. He'd been the one to seek her out in large auditorium, not her. He'd been the one who had interrupted her conversation with Admiral Oyefeso, not her. Why?

There had been a point, when they had first started at the Academy, where they'd been on friendly terms but that had soon come to an abrupt end. She'd found his arrogance irritating but no more than the rest of the Classmates who were either there by their own virtues or through sheer nepotism. His lack of focus, that had been her downfall. She despised flippancy, of any kind. So as time had gone on she found herself arguing with him, on any front and at any time. He in turn would laugh at her, make light of any point that she put forward in class. They both knew exactly which buttons to press with one another, and they both pressed those buttons with gusto.

They had been paired up in a combat class once, he'd made some remark about taking it easy, she'd let her resentment get the better of her and broken her nose when he'd dodged her attack. When he'd held out his hand to her, offering a truce she'd rebuked him, stalked off to wallow in her own sorrow. She learnt a valuable lesson that day. He didn't extend the olive branch again after that, and she couldn't blame him. Once bitten, twice shy and all that. I guess they'd learnt the same lesson.

Sleeping with each other had just been another twisted way of getting back at one another, but he won that one, fair and square. She didn't have the stomach for it, giving up so much of herself all in the name of vengeance. She quietly respected him for it though, because deep down she had felt something for him in that moment, in his bed and she hated herself and him in equal measure.

"You're looking well Raihana," Kirk's voice had softened; there was a nostalgic quality to his tone.

"Thank you Jim, you too. Those blue eyes still getting you into trouble?" he laughed.

"No more than usual," Raihana laughed too, seeing the wrinkles round his eyes reminded her of the time that had passed, the things that had happened and the things that they had done. She knew she wasn't the same person she had been at the Academy, she supposed she should afford Jim Kirk the same courtesy.

"I'm glad to see you got what you wanted Jim, I really am. You should be proud of yourself," her hand instinctively went to his and she gave it a squeeze. She knew it caught him off guard, the look of surprise on his face giving that away. But when he smiled and squeezed back she knew he accepted her compliment and appreciated it. Either that or the pair of them had grown too accustomed to playing games, not knowing themselves what was genuine and what was a lie.

"Thank you Raihana."He wanted to say sorry.

"I should go." She wanted to say sorry.

"Yeah, me too. Keep in touch okay?" when she didn't respond he knew he wouldn't hear from her, and that was okay. "Good luck."


End file.
